Taipei is in the throes of a looming presidential election and various candidates are jockeying for position in the two major parties. It's causing more of a wave than usual this time as the stakes are rising by the day with the Hong Kong uprising uppermost in politicians' minds as well as warnings from China that any possible moves to independence from Taiwan would be regarded as "disastrous". This is pretty strong rhetoric from the world's greatest emerging superpower, but people here are either naive or fiercely brave.
There are many local rallies about independence and there is a groundswell of support for such ideals among a significant proportion of the population. The elections tend to be on a knife's edge, however, meaning that the population is pretty much evenly split on the idea. China's sabre rattling at the very mention of independence worries us, but the pro-independence cabal here seem oblivious to the threat! I just hope that whoever prevails in a few months holds the steady line and confirms the "one country, two systems" ideology in order to avoid "disaster"!
We enjoyed long spells of cricket over the weekend. The first test of the summer from the Gabba is an institution and one which the Australians almost always win. This test was no different: the crack of willow on leather inspires and delights us at this time of year and we relished the chance to enjoy sessions in the sun, thunder in with ball in hand and dissect the field to find the boundary with a flourish of the bat!
We ducked away from the game to do various chores we reserve for the weekend away from the hectic pace of the working week. Carrefour was buzzing as usual, but we managed to flit in and out fairly quickly with our great haul of groceries. We always seem to be carting away bags laden with goods while others are zipping in and out with just a few purchases! We just do one big shop a week while many locals go nearly every day for their immediate needs: it's quite a different shopping culture!
The V8 Supercars were also on this weekend so we tuned in for a while on Sunday to get a glimpse of Newcastle by drone and helicopter as the cars hammered round the city street circuit. The city looked fantastic: who wouldn't want to live there?(!) At one stage we were flirting with the idea of a lightning visit home as we'd purchased tickets to the Kiss concert. Luckily we'd pulled the pin on that idea a while back and hadn't bought plane tickets or made arrangements: imagine the disappointment if we had!
It's a short working week for us, mercifully. The mighty United States of America has decreed it's a weekend for giving thanks, so we'll gratefully accept the long weekend and celebrate Thanksgiving in our own way. A perk for working at an American institution!
Photos: the kids joined a worldwide movement in a "Dance for Kindness", we were issued with new contracts, and Cass jokingly posed with her daily whiteboard schedule! We also got our rail pass from "DB" addressed to Herr Braggett!